Five commercial news websites (Sina, Sohu, Netease, Ifeng and Jiaodian) were punished by China's Internet authorities for fabricating sensational and inaccurate news headlines amid a crackdown operation against "click bait" articles conducted by the Office of the Central Leading Group for Cyberspace Affairs (CAC). 

The office said that news reports from "mainstream agencies and news outlets" were usually published by these websites with altered titles, composed of sensational rhetoric in an attempt to "go viral." Those titles, some exaggerated, some quoting isolated passages, some using vulgar language, tampered with the original and real meaning of the articles and misled the readers with inaccurate information.  It also criticized the use of terms, such as, "netizens say"and"netizens discover" which was used in many titles, saying such unspecified quotations were unprofessional journalism. That misconduct, according to the authorities, "teased  orthodox ideas, departed from the professional principles, and corrupted public morals," said the office.

As a result of the crackdown, a new regulation was issued by the office to rectify this unhealthy tendency. It stressed the importance of "maintaining the correct orientation for public opinion," not only in the process of composing, but also in the editing and publishing of the reports, defining several kinds of mal-composed headlines to be forbidden. A webpage for public tip-off was set up on an official website run by the CAC to prevent further violations.